Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tirupati on Sunday and offered prayers at the Tirumala temple. Following his two-day visit to the Maldives and Sri Lanka, Modi landed in the state from Colombo.

He was welcomed by Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy, state ministers, BJP leaders and senior officials at the Renigunta Airport.

PM Modi addressed an audience organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) near the airport before leaving for Tirumala by road to offer prayers.

Addressing the crowd, the Prime Minister congratulated the people for electing their respective leaders. He addressed the BJP cadres and asked them to dedicate themselves to the betterment of the country. He further added that he hoped the BJP would be showing its presence in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu soon. The PM stated that the party’s landslide victory was only possible because of the support of the people.

This was Modi's first visit to the temple after becoming the Prime Minister for a second term and is perceived as a thanksgiving trip.

He had earlier visited the temple in his capacity as the PM candidate in May 2014 and as the Prime Minister in October 2015 and January 2017.

Following his win, the Prime Minister had earlier visited Guruvaryur temple in Kerala and had done the ‘thulabharam’ ceremony with lotus flowers. The ceremony is done with a person sitting on one side of a balance with offerings of equal weight placed on the other side of the balance scale. The ritual was performed using over 100 flowers. Many people believe that this was a political message by the PM to the state.